Monday, February 22nd 2021
Blizzard Entertainment to Resurrect Diablo II in 2021 for PC and Consoles
Diablo II, one of the most acclaimed titles in PC gaming history, returns... and Hell has never looked better. Blizzard Entertainment today revealed Diablo II: Resurrected, the definitive remastering of Diablo II and its Lord of Destruction expansion—two hallmark entries in the company's genre-defining action role-playing series.
Diablo II was hailed by Time magazine as "arguably the best role-playing game of all time, the best dungeon-crawler of all time and the best PC game of all time." Diablo II: Resurrected welcomes back veteran heroes and invites a new generation of players to experience the game's sinfully dark storyline, thrilling loot chase, and visceral hack-and-slash gameplay with modernized visuals that take advantage of the latest gaming hardware.
Diablo II: Resurrected takes the 2D sprite-based classic and brings it into the present with full 3D physically-based rendering, dynamic lighting, revamped animations and spell effects—all stunningly delivered in up to 4K resolution.† All 27 minutes of the game's classic cinematics, chronicling the journey of the mysterious Dark Wanderer, are being remade—shot for shot—from the ground up. The nightmarish sounds of Sanctuary and its memorable soundtrack have also been reinvigorated to support Dolby 7.1 surround sound. By leveling up the game's audio and visual capabilities, Diablo II: Resurrected will showcase the depth of gameplay and hallmark designs that continue to entertain players around the world to this day.
"Diablo II was a pivotal game for Blizzard and millions of players around the world. With Diablo II: Resurrected, we're excited to bring this classic back to PC and also to consoles—with cross-progression on supported platforms—so that players can relive their memories, or experience Diablo II's timeless gameplay for the first time, on their platform of choice," said J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment. "With the new high-resolution audio and video in Diablo II: Resurrected, the game is as fun and engrossing today as it was twenty years ago."
For those who would prefer a more nostalgic experience, players will be able to freely switch back-and-forth between the modern graphics and the original experience at any time with the press of a button. While Diablo II: Resurrected may look like an all-new game, Diablo II's signature gameplay and systems are completely intact, quirks and all, adding a few highly requested quality of life improvements, such as a shared stash.
Diablo II: Resurrected features seven highly customizable character classes for players to choose from—the Amazon, Barbarian, Necromancer, Paladin, and Sorceress from the core game, as well as the Assassin and Druid from the included Lord of Destruction expansion. Players will be able to make each character their own by selecting skills and talent builds, crafting and socketing items, collecting complete gear sets, acquiring unique arms and armor, assembling Rune Word combinations, and much more.
Diablo II: Resurrected is an all-inclusive package containing a lifetime of adventures. It will take players to the deadly world of Sanctuary, where they will face Diablo, the Lord of Terror, and the forces of Hell through all four thrilling Acts of the original Diablo II campaign. They'll meet beloved mentor and scholar Deckard Cain, fight alongside the Archangel Tyrael, and encounter other pantheonic characters who have become an indelible part of gaming history. This edition also includes all of the content from the Lord of Destruction expansion, with the journey continuing into Act V, where players will brave the dangers of Mount Arreat before facing Baal, the eponymous Lord of Destruction.
Developed by Blizzard Entertainment and in-house studio Vicarious Visions, Diablo II: Resurrected will be coming later this year to Windows PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. With cross-progression** between supported platforms, players will be able to play as their characters—and keep all their stuff—no matter what supporting platform they're playing on.
Brave souls can seek out more information, as well as opt in for a chance to participate in an upcoming PC technical alpha test, at www.diablo2.com.
Diablo II was hailed by Time magazine as "arguably the best role-playing game of all time, the best dungeon-crawler of all time and the best PC game of all time." Diablo II: Resurrected welcomes back veteran heroes and invites a new generation of players to experience the game's sinfully dark storyline, thrilling loot chase, and visceral hack-and-slash gameplay with modernized visuals that take advantage of the latest gaming hardware.
"Diablo II was a pivotal game for Blizzard and millions of players around the world. With Diablo II: Resurrected, we're excited to bring this classic back to PC and also to consoles—with cross-progression on supported platforms—so that players can relive their memories, or experience Diablo II's timeless gameplay for the first time, on their platform of choice," said J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment. "With the new high-resolution audio and video in Diablo II: Resurrected, the game is as fun and engrossing today as it was twenty years ago."
For those who would prefer a more nostalgic experience, players will be able to freely switch back-and-forth between the modern graphics and the original experience at any time with the press of a button. While Diablo II: Resurrected may look like an all-new game, Diablo II's signature gameplay and systems are completely intact, quirks and all, adding a few highly requested quality of life improvements, such as a shared stash.
Diablo II: Resurrected features seven highly customizable character classes for players to choose from—the Amazon, Barbarian, Necromancer, Paladin, and Sorceress from the core game, as well as the Assassin and Druid from the included Lord of Destruction expansion. Players will be able to make each character their own by selecting skills and talent builds, crafting and socketing items, collecting complete gear sets, acquiring unique arms and armor, assembling Rune Word combinations, and much more.
Diablo II: Resurrected is an all-inclusive package containing a lifetime of adventures. It will take players to the deadly world of Sanctuary, where they will face Diablo, the Lord of Terror, and the forces of Hell through all four thrilling Acts of the original Diablo II campaign. They'll meet beloved mentor and scholar Deckard Cain, fight alongside the Archangel Tyrael, and encounter other pantheonic characters who have become an indelible part of gaming history. This edition also includes all of the content from the Lord of Destruction expansion, with the journey continuing into Act V, where players will brave the dangers of Mount Arreat before facing Baal, the eponymous Lord of Destruction.
Developed by Blizzard Entertainment and in-house studio Vicarious Visions, Diablo II: Resurrected will be coming later this year to Windows PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. With cross-progression** between supported platforms, players will be able to play as their characters—and keep all their stuff—no matter what supporting platform they're playing on.
Brave souls can seek out more information, as well as opt in for a chance to participate in an upcoming PC technical alpha test, at www.diablo2.com.
84 Comments on Blizzard Entertainment to Resurrect Diablo II in 2021 for PC and Consoles
I have very fond memories of D2 but its gameplay has not aged gracefully; No respec, no variety, almost nonexistent crafting or character improvements outside of grinding away at the same old tilesets. As a remaster it needs more than just a 16:9 HD graphics update, the gameplay needs to be tweaked to better suit the demographic of modern gamers - and by modern gamers I don't just mean today's kids, I mean the evolved tastes of D2's original audience but 21 years older.
Simply increasing droprates would help, but it's almost unheard of in grinding ARPGs these days that you can't craft/improve gear that provides you an alternative escape from bad RNG other than more grinding.
But no variety? Have you ever played a melee sorceress? A dentist? A titan? There's tons of variety in D2, just not the one we're used to these days.
And I really hate it when developers tune their drop rates for multiplayer and then just copy paste the odds to single player, effectively locking you out of the end-game. D2 wasn't that bad in that regard. Sure, I never got an Arkaine's Valor, but I got like 5 Stormshields in return. It got worse when they introduced the runes. But still wasn't as bad as more recent games.
I think ppl who never played the original and jumps into the remaster after getting used to the drops in more recent games or D3 for example, well I would assume that they wont like it if they try to find everything on their own.
Tho I guess if they changed the droprates the original die hard fan base would complain instead.
From what they said in that interview they are really trying to keep the game as close to the original as possible regarding gameplay.
Btw respec is in the game, can't remember when they added to it but it already existed when I was still playing long ago. 'Craftable respec Token and the mats droped by Hell bosses'
@bug
Yup, thats something I also complained about in the past as I'm mainly a solo player for years now.
I often find myself gimped in such games cause everything is about that multiplayer 'balance'.:shadedshu:
If for some reason you expect something new than you will not find it. BTW, do you remember tower defense? The servers have been reactivated from what has my brother told me.
@bug
I love it. Do you know what DOTA, League of legends is? I'm sure you do. W3 Tower defense is the predecessor for such games, all other games got the idea from that particular one. Online gaming with others, two teams and footman everywhere :)
And now you made me remember D2 lost the darkness in the original :(It's not even a balance, it's basically turning everything into a trading game (because without sinks for everything, you'd have rampant inflation).
That was just a huge design win and the MOBA iterated on it.While D2 suffered a little bit from that, the game still had so many ways to completely destroy it.
But that in a nutshell is why Grim Dawn is so fantastic. None of that stuff. Short grinds. Big results.Oh man.. many hours were lost in TDs. One even crazier than the other...
The more I think about it, the more I'm looking forward to doing at least one run-through of D3. I have nothing against it, just came out at the wrong time for me. I played Diablo from its release until the release of Diablo II and continued for at least a year after the release of LoD. But without another expansion or installment in the series, the momentum ran out and the pool soured with titles such as Hellgate:London.
8GB RAM for 768p
16GB RAM for 1080p
For 4k has not published rumors what will be requirements.
Plus, Blizzard titles have always been well optimized, system requirements would be the least of my worries (even if this will not end up as a 100% Blizzard title).
To respec you had to farm endgame bosses on hell difficulty for four reagents which had a 1-in-15 drop chance - so typically 60 endgame boss kills.
As good as it is that a respec option was put into the game given its inflexible mechanics, it was a decade late and does nothing to encourage experimentation with builds whilst levelling.
It was better than rolling a new char thats for sure, even with all those boosting options on B net.
End game builds did have variety tho, I had some odd builds for fun like WW Sin and a 200% 'cap in the game' Faster Cast rate Light Sorc that was borderline impossible to controll but mad fun to play. 'with infinity on merc so it was strong too'.
But ye fun times,I mainly played in 1.07/1.09 singleplayer and B net after 1.10. Played some single mods too like Eastern Sun and Median.
That actually makes me wonder how will this Resurrected version affect modding.
Straight from an interview.
What it won't have is couch co-op like console D3 has cause D2 was never designed that way.